This invention relates to lawn rakes having detachable and replaceable tines, and particularly to an improved form of such rakes which will accommodate tines of different shapes and sizes.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,468,376 issued Apr. 26, 1949 to A. M. Peeples discloses a lawn rake which uses detachable and replaceable tines formed of a stiff wire with a circular cross-section. The tines are snapped in place in complementary slots formed in a pair of spaced flanges of a crosshead that is attached to the rake handle. Other examples of rakes with detachable round wire tines are U.S. Pat. No. 1,621,276 issued Mar. 15, 1927 to F. E. Richardson and U.S. Pat. No. 1,735,237 issued Nov. 12, 1929 to E. L. Dennis.
It is also known in the prior art to form lawn rakes with detachable and replaceable tines formed of flat stock material having a rectangular cross-section. Examples of such rakes are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,865 issued Sept. 9, 1958 to E. B. Anderson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,528 issued Aug. 5, 1980 to Fodor.
All such prior art rakes can accommodate only one size and shape of tine. However, different lawn and gardening chores require rakes with tines having different characteristics including stiffness and shape. For example, spring thatching of a lawn is best accomplished with round teeth that can dig into the layers of grass and remove the old grass. In contrast, fall leaf raking is best done with flat metal tines that are not as harsh on the lawn as round tines, and which are superior for gathering up dead leaves and debris.
A lawn rake in accordance with my invention allows the user to substitute tines of various shapes and sizes to adapt the rake to the needs of the user.